Women in Estonia

Women in Estonia

File:Ellen Niit Kiskőrös.JPG The 1954 bust of Ellen Niit, a female Estonian literary writer born in 1928. The bust was sculpted by Erna Viitol (1920–2001).
Gender Inequality Index
Value	0.154 (2013)
Rank	29th out of 152
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)	2 (2010)
Women in parliament	20.8% (2013)
Females over 25 with secondary education	100% (2012)
Women in labour force	66.3% (employment rate Eurostat definition, 2014)
Global Gender Gap Index
Value	0.6997(2013)
Rank	59th out of 136

File:07-06-21-tallinn-by-RalfR-231.jpg

Two modern-day Estonian women at work while wearing traditional costume.

Women in Estonia are women who were born in, who live in, or are from Estonia in Europe.

Fertility

Main article: Demographics of Estonia

Between 1970 and 1990, the total fertility rate (TFR - the average number of children a woman bears) of Estonian women was little over 2 children born per woman. A fast decrease of the TFR occurred after independence. In 1998 the lowest rate was recorded: 1.28 children born per women. In 2001, the United Nations reported through its annual world-population report that "Estonia was one of the fastest-shrinking nations on earth, at risk of losing nearly half its 1.4 million people by mid-century". To prevent this drop in TFR, one of the steps the Estonian government took since 2004 was to start "paying" women by providing them with subsidies "to have babies" known as "mother's salary"). After giving birth and during maternity leave, working Estonian women received full monthly income for up to 15 months (equivalent to US$1,560.00); non-working women who gave birth received a monthly subsidy equivalent to US$200.00. The TFR slightly recovered in the subsequent years. The TFR was 1.66 in 2008 and 1.52 in 2011.

Religion

In the past, according to Estonian mythology, the ancient women of Estonia believed in the female deity and protector of pregnant women in labor known as Rõugutaja.